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A video can mean many things. It can be completely animated, or it may consist of live footage. It can consist of all text or still photos, or it may contain a combination of some or all of these elements. Whatever your video is like, you need to understand a few production concepts and terms.

Camera footage:There are a plethora of cameras out. It takes some techni-cal expertise and experience behind a few cameras to appreciate their differ-ences. I don’t have space in this guide to describe the many options. Just be aware that if you plan to shoot live footage, it’s important to plan ahead and hire an experienced camera operator.

Hard Drives and Media Cards: Tape is dead. Most high-end production today is done on digital media cards, and the data needs to live somewhere after shooting. Plan to have at least two hard drives for your media in case one fails. After production, give one hard drive to your clients and leave one with your producer for any last minute or future changes. You might not have time to ship it!

Motion Graphics: Motion graphics can add a lot to a video production. But it takes talent, time and money to deliver high quality graphics. Be sure to build in time for revisions, approvals and unexpected complexity. Some of the most interesting and original motion graphics can be experimental, so plan in a little extra time if you want to push the envelope.

Photos: Animating photos can be a great way to make video, but they need to be high quality, and you’ll need lots of them! I like to shoot each photo in a montage for 3-4 seconds. If you plan to do any zooming in, make sure the resolution is high enough to look good close up.

Music: Nothing makes or breaks a video like music. There are plenty of royalty free music sites out there where you can buy instrumental tracks for around $30 each. If you have the budget, you can get much more impact by custom scoring the piece. But don’t use music from your favorite artists un-less you like getting sued.

Text: When you are on production, be sure to note the spelling of people’s names and their titles. It will save a lot of hassle later!